Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

We are called always to be alert for signs from God, for opportunities to do his will, to do good, and to do the right thing. It is up to us to seize those opportunities just as Mary, mystified though she was, chose to follow the angel's message and accept God's invitation to become the mother of Christ. But such signs and opportunities will not always be obvious.

I was recently in New York City with my son and teenage grandson, riding in a near-empty subway car headed to some obscure museum in the Bronx. Across from us dozed a disheveled man, very likely hung over and homeless, rocking side to side with the rhythm of the car. I was content simply to read the
New York Times. When we got up to exit the subway car, my son reached over to put something in the sleeping man's pocket.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I gave him cash. He'll be hungry when he wakes up," my son said.

My son is far from wealthy, and he is not religious in a conventional way. But, he is the one who seized and opportunity to do good, an opportunity to which I was blind. God constantly sends these opportunities to us, but we must be alert to see and act on them.